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Implementing Laptops

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by spankylogic9000

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I have about 250 users in my primary environment, and about 100 of them have express a great interest in going mobile. I'm curious to anyone?s input on how to undertake this type of project and anybody?s bad experiences with this type of environment. I already have Citrix in place for most workers to log on remotely and would give them a laptop and make citrix their primary way log connecting to the network.

7 replies

by zlitocook

A policy for how they take care of the laptops. If it gets damaged and is not under warrenty, who will pay for it? How will you or them protect the laptop, will they use it as only a work computer or will they be able to surf the internet? You will need a firewall, antiviurs, spyware removers and for them to update themselfs.
It is almost impossible to watch what they do at home and if the kids get ahold of it, well you know what I mean. There are a lot of bad things that can happen.

by spankylogic9000

I agree with having little to no control of what they do outside the office with them, I'm hoping to lock them down to a point of limited to no install capabilities.

To take care of the spy ware and such would you suggest that we have a maintance policy (sort of like taking it in for an oil change) at least quarterly for updates and such?

by tig2

Is to implement a maintenance window. Not sure how you deliver updates to your current environment- script at login? Whatever the current strategy is, it should continue to work. A quarterly health check generally works- just start your record keeping from the day the pc is issued.

Something that Zlito missed is an encryption programme. Not knowing what your industry is, I can't say what you are managing to in terms of regulation. As we have seen lately in the news, laptops can go missing and the data on them should be hashed.

by spankylogic9000

Thank you for the insight on the maintenance window..

As for the encryption program, the users will be connecting back through Citrix all data remaining on the servers in the data center. With that said do you for see any issue with that particular way of connecting that could be an issue if the laptop is stolen or lost? In most cases that I've heard from on the news, its been that a database of clients or some form of client information was stored locally on that laptops hard drive.

by tig2

You're right. The only thing that would be vulnerable would be anything that the user loads as a local copy- maybe to work on while travelling, to work on at home or on vacation. In those kinds of scenarios, an encryption device would be needed.

The Citrix connection should be fine. Access is passworded and you hope the user hasn't stored it somewhere vulnerable.

Most of the cases HAVE been vulnerable databases stored locally but other kinds of data can be sensitive as well. To encrypt or not to encrypt would be based on the types of data that your user may need to access in local copy. Theoretically nothing but there will always be those who have "special" needs.

by tig2

Don't know who you use for equipment procurement but check with them- I have worked projects that I was able to realise a significant cost savings by ordering in bulk. If you are looking at a 100 user transition, using a bulk approach will be MUCH appreciated by your procurement department!

by spankylogic9000

I agree, and will look at that, our initial plan is to run about 30 or so mobile workers and see how that compares to what our expected cost analysis predicted ...

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